Experimenting with Threat: How Cyberterrorism Targeting Critical Infrastructure Influences Support for Surveillance Policies

Governments worldwide are racing to implement a new wave of intrusive digital surveillance policies, driven by the ominous threat of cyberterrorism. The U.K. leads the charge with some of the most expansive surveillance laws in the democratic world. But does exposure to cyberterrorism actually foster public support for these measures, or does it fuel resistance? Cyberterrorism—devastating digital assaults that seek to terrorize the public to attain political objectives—inflicts severe psychological harm, yet its influence on policy preferences remains a mystery. We believe the answer lies in perceptions of threat—the gut-level fear that people feel when they sense external risks. Through a pair of randomized controlled experiments, we exposed British participants to news reports depicting cyber or conventional terrorism targeting critical infrastructure in the UK. Findings show that only those attacks causing lethal consequences generate heightened support for surveillance policies, with perceived threats—both security and economic—playing a pivotal role in connecting exposure to cyberterrorism with policy endorsement. As cyberterrorism emerges as an imminent global menace, this paper reveals the conditions under which digital terrorism sparks public backing for intrusive surveillance. Our conclusions thrust the public squarely into a renewed debate about the delicate balance between digital security and civil liberties.